As you well know, your tenants are your golden nuggets. In the current market our biggest worry as a landlord is a tenant defaulting on rents.
But wouldn’t it be great if we could motivate tenants to not only pay their rent on time but to also pay above market value as well?
To get the latter I have used one simple technique. I self manage my properties and produce a single sheet of A4, called a Tenant Welcome Pack.
This gives the tenant all the essential information about my property when they move in. It gives them assurances that I am not a landlord from hell and certainly motivates them to pull out the stops to ensure that the rents are paid on time so that they are not forced to move out. Of course, an underlying factor here is that the property is in top notch condition!
A typical Tenant Welcome Pack would contain the following bits of information:
Your details - how to contact you
A list of all the utility suppliers - e.g. gas, water, electricity etc.
A list of certificates and suppliers - e.g. gas safety, electricity, EPC etc.
A list of relevant insurances e.g. appliance cover, boiler cover etc.
Deposit Protection Details
As I said, I have a Tenant Welcome Pack which I have used to enormous effect to help me to get tenants who will pay top market rent for the property!
Why?
Well, simply because I am giving them total confidence in me as a landlord and this is what every tenant wants!
Our UK leading landlord software,Landlords Property Manager, produces a tenant welcome pack for you with the click of a button!
Just producing this for two properties is guaranteed to help boost your Cash Flow!
Visit:www.propertyportfoliosoftware.co.ukto learn more.
8. The TEN Most Important Questions to Ask...
...before You Purchase Any Landlord/Property Management Software!
8.1. Introduction
With the growing number of landlords, numerous services have been brought to the market to help property investors and UK landlords to better manage and grow their portfolio.
One of the essential tools for serious landlords is property management software.
I first started looking for property management software in 2002 as I felt it was the right time to buy something to help me get better organised with my portfolio.
I went through the phase of creating my own spreadsheets when I had just 2-3 properties. They were primarily used to track income and expenditures.
However, with increasing landlord legislation, paperwork and responsibilities, I started to look for a suitable property management software solution that would help me to get better organised and free up my time so I could spend it on the more important things in life, like spending time with my family (oh, and, of course, growing my portfolio)!
I couldn't find any suitable software that gave comprehensive answers to the following 10 questions that I had, so I went about using my software design skills (I have worked as a software designer for over 10 years) and landlord management skills to design my own solutions:Landlords Property Manager.
So, if you are considering buying property management or landlord software, then make sure that you ask all potential suppliers the following 10 questions!
8.2. QUESTION 1 - How Long Has the Software Been On the Market?
This must be the very first question that you ask!
The reason being is that if the software is from a new start-up company then you would have good reason to be sceptical as to whether they will still be trading in a couple of years time.
Because the property market has boomed over the past few years, a number of different landlord software vendors have come to the market but disappeared within a couple of years.
In fact, the first two property management software solutions that I tried are no longer in existence and both disappeared within three years!
Don't forget, you want a solution that is going to grow with you as your portfolio increases, so it is not going to be a tool that you will have for 1-2 years but for maybe 5, 10, 20 or even 30 years!
8.3. Question 2 - How Many Sales Have Been Achieved To Date?
Don't be scared to ask this question.
This will give you a good indicator as to how popular the solution is, whether the company will still be trading in a few years time and how committed they will be to further developing the software in coming years!
Ring round the different property management software suppliers and get a feel for how many units each have sold since they have been established.
Just knowing this figure will tell you a lot about the company.
REMEMBER: The property management software is a very niche market, so if somebody starts telling you they have been selling thousands year on year then I would really question whether they are telling the truth.
8.4. QUESTION 3 - What Kind Of Support Is Provided?
I often say that the support service that sits behind the product is more important that the product itself, as this service will determine how successful your product is.
Let's face it, at some point you probably will need to contact the software vendor, and this could be because you have hit a technical problem, have a functional query or just have a question to ask about their product/service.
The speed and manner in which you query is dealt with will either make you a fan (and hence make the sale) or put you off totally!
Any serious software vendor really should be making the following options available for you to contact them:
Telephone
Telephone support should be available during office hours i.e. 9am to 5pm.
Don't settle for anything less i.e. 9am to 1pm only.
You should be able to communicate by phone with your vendor during normal office hours.
Email /Ticketing System
As a minimum you should be able to send email enquiries 24/7, so that they can be picked up during office hours (or even outside of office hours).
However, the norm nowadays is for the software vendor to have some sort of Help Desk/Ticketing system in place, so all support queries can be fully
tracked and monitored.
We useActiDesk, one of the best help desk/ticketing systems on the market!
Chat
Again, during office hours, the ability to chat on-line with a user representative is a good tool, so if you are by your computer using the software and have a query you can chat on-line with a suitable experienced customer representative.
Please Note: Charging for support should be totally acceptable, as it will help the vendor to continue to re-invest in the software. Most niche 'business' related software solutions on the market will charge a support fee.
If somebody offers unlimited and endless free support, then they have not understood the software market and no doubt will start to struggle as their customer base grows and the number of support calls increase.
However it is normal to get about 30 days of unlimited (email or telephone) free functional and technical support, so you should expect this as a minimum.
8.5. QUESTION 4 - Who Has The Software Been Designed By?
This really is a 'killer' question to ask and will help you to eliminate a good number of software vendors.
You really need to choose a solution that has been designed by landlords i.e.
somebody who day-in-day-out comes across the issues that you are facing on an ongoing basis.
I made the mistake of not asking this question when I tried some solutions only to find that they did not work; quite frankly, I am not surprised these software vendors are no longer in existence.
You can see my profile here. I also give regular talks at shows on landlord matters, property management and have designed software solutions for FTSE companies.
Because I have spoken at numerous events and am in regular contact with experienced landlords, I have always been keen to get their feedback and suggestions when designing our software solutions.
8.6. QUESTION 5 - How Can The Software Be Trialled?
Some landlords will want to try software before they commit to purchasing it, whilst others will just go along and purchase the software, making sure that the vendor has a sound refund policy.
We used to offer a trial version of our software, where prospective customers could simply enter their name and email address and get a free trial download of our software.
However we found that 90% of those that requested the trial never did trial the software (i.e. as they were not serious about using property management software). We found most serious landlords who waned property management software would just go ahead and buy the software, and, if they were not happy, would ask for a refund.
So, if somebody does not offer a trial version of the software then do not be too concerned as it is likely that they have a very sound refund policy in place (see below) and there is a legitimate reason why they don't offer a trial version.
8.7. QUESTION 7 - What Is The Refund Policy?
It is important that you look in to any refund policy that is made available and definitely read the small print!
I have come across vendors who will offer a money back guarantee, but you then need to jump through hoops and fill in different forms in order to get a refund.
To me, a refund should be done within 24 hours (48 hours max), either by a simple phone call or a simple email - that’s it!
There should not be a need for the customer to have to wait any longer or fill in unnecessary forms.
Also, with software such software you need a good amount of time to road test it and I have found that 30 Days is not enough. So that’s why we offer a 90 Day no quibble money back guarantee!
8.8. QUESTION 7 - Who Is The Software Recommended by?
You need to know who is happy to recommend or suggest the software. The UKs two largest landlords associations are the National landlords Association (NLA) and the Residential Landlords Association (NLA).
I am delighted to say that we are the only property management software provider of RLA. In fact we are their official property management software partner!
This means that our landlords property manager solutions are the only software solutions that they proactively market and advise their members and website visitors to buy.
It also gives me great please to say we are an approved and recognised supplier of the National Landlords Association (NLA), the largest landlords’ body in the country, now with some 20,000 members.
They have vetted our company and are more than happy to promote our software. We have been profiled in their UK Landlord magazine a number of times.
We are also the recommended landlord software supplier for some of the largest property education companies in the UK (details available upon request).
To see what other industry experts say about our software solutions go here:
>>/www.propertyportfoliosoftware.co.uk/what_experts_say.html
More importantly to see what our customers say about our software solutions go here:
>>http://www.propertyportfoliosoftware.co.uk/success_stories.html
8.9. QUESTION 8 - How Often Is The Software Updated?
Software can not stand still! It must be fixed and further developed on a regular basis.
Every software vendor must have the technology where the software can automatically update itself with fixes, just like Microsoft Windows does.
What this means is that if a fix is released then when the user starts the software it is automatically detected, downloaded and the software updated.
You also want to see signs that the software is being regularly updated, with more functionality/features being added on a regular basis. I would suggest that each software vendor should implement one major functional upgrade each year as a minimum.
We commit to at least one major functional upgrade each year (but normally two), and one or two minor functional upgrades each year.
The only enhancements that go in to our software are those that are requested by our users.
You don't want to be waiting 2-3 years before a major functional upgrade is released. Ask when the last major functional upgrade was done.
We make all our fixes and functional update releases totally transparent via ourrelease notespage.
8.10. QUESTION 9 - How Many Licences Do I Get with the Software?
We now live in a time where it is quite normal for people to have two computers: a desktop and a laptop.
If I was to buy property management software, then I would expect to be able to install it on both computers for my personal use and not to have to pay anything extra. Also, if my computer was to become faulty and I had to buy another one, then again I would expect to be able to install the software on this third machine without the need to buy the software again.
For this reason we allow our software to be installed on up to three personal computers. However, if you are one of the unlucky ones who need it on a fourth personal computer because another one has failed, then you just need to contact us and we will arrange this for you as well.
Software vendors do need to protect themselves from their software being illegally distributed and licensed.
However, as a customer you don't want to be restricted to just a single licence, and we have found that issuing three licences as default satisfies 99% of customers’ needs.
8.11. QUESTION 10 - How Do We Meet You?
When you buy any property management software, the chances are that you will be using it for a number for years.
Therefore, at some point you will also want to know that your vendor is pro-active in the market and, if you want, you can pop along and meet the team at an event rather than being told that you have to go to their offices.
I personally speak at a number of landlord/property investment related events so meeting me is never really an issue. However, we also exhibit our software at various landlord/property management events/shows and you can see a list of theforthcoming eventswe will be exhibiting at by clicking the link.
When I see suppliers exhibiting, it gives me confidence to see that they are working pro-actively to grow their brand and believe strongly in what they are doing.
By exhibiting at events, you also get some really good feedback on your product there and then!
8.12. BONUS QUESTION - Why Do Customers Buy Your Software?
OK, I know that at the outset I said ‘10 Questions’, but this is probably the most important one!
This is a brilliant question to ask, and I liken it to the question we always dread getting in a job interview 'so why should I give you the job?'.
If the property management software vendor understands their target market and have researched their customer and prospects they will be able to give you a reassuring answer that will demonstrate that they are a serious player in the market and know what landlords want.
Whenever we get asked the question we respond as follows:
The top seven reasons why landlords choose our property management software:
To get better organised
Tackles all major challenges faced by landlords
Designed by landlords for landlords
Only solution to calculate rental income taxes (no need to integrate into 3rd party accounting software)
Reduces accountancy, legal and letting agency fees
Easy to use software
Unrivalled support service